At the Sept. 9 meeting Chief Hamrick provided an operational update for Hampshire County Emergency Services Authority (HESA). He said the county had been awarded $90,909 from the state OEM and that the state required the county to distribute the award equally among the four volunteer/EMS companies serving the county. "That will be distributed equally across all the volunteer and HESA...divided into 4 roughly $22,500 to each company, and there's a 30% match," Hamrick said. He added that if a volunteer agency cannot meet the 30 percent match, the state can be contacted to reallocate that portion to another department able to match.

Hamrick said Hampshire EMS plans to use its allocation to replace one stretcher; he described four of six stretchers as out of warranty and estimated replacement cost at about $30,000 apiece. "So it falls right in in line with that cost. So we plan on probably replacing 1 of our stretchers for our allotment," he said.

Hamrick also outlined operational items: staffing is stable, with a waiting list of applicants; a portion of payroll accounts had been supported earlier in the year from other county accounts and the department expects roughly $150,000 of outstanding MCA payments to arrive in the coming six weeks. He reported billing delays had temporarily reduced available funds in one operational account but said payroll remains within budgeted ranges.

On clinical capability, Hamrick described progress toward carrying whole blood in the field. He said Hampshire EMS staff have pursued training and partnerships with Valley Health and other agencies; he reported that roughly 90 percent of the county's medics are certified to the whole-blood protocol and that the department is studying logistics such as specialized coolers with continuous temperature monitoring. "We're working very closely with a couple agencies...we're trying to do this towards little to no cost to the county but it is a huge asset to have," Hamrick said, describing whole blood as a life-saving capability in rural, long-transport settings.

The update contained no formal commission action but commissioners thanked Hamrick for the report and asked for continued updates as funding allocations and whole-blood logistics are finalized.